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Female Aviators

This appeared last friday in the Israeli daily Haaretz. I, for one, can't imagine why such a thing could take place, but then I'm an air force nut. I would appreciate any comments on the subject, mainly from the female members. Has anything similiar happened in other air forces?

The number of women interested in participating in the Israel Air Force's pilots course is steadily dropping, according to figures collated at the air force flying school in Hatzerim.

Ever since the gates of the school were opened to female candidates, some 12 courses ago, 107 budding female aviators have participated in the training. Of these, just one completed the course to become a fighter pilot. Three other women completed the navigation part of the course, and there is one women at an advanced stage of the current fighter pilot course.

The IAF decided at the start of this year to increase the number of women candidates in its pilots courses. Since January this year, the IDF's enlistment administration has contacted all the female inductees who met the preliminary criteria (including psychometric results and personal ability tests) to try out for flying school. This policy is intended to increase the number of female inductees who are candidates for the pilots courses.

In practice, however, the trend is very different, with the number of women interested in applying for the course dropping.

The commander of the air force's flying school, Colonel Adi Shaham, said this week that he believed the reason for the decline was a sharp drop in motivation among female inductees. The top brass in the IAF, however, believe that the database of information gathered since women began to participate in the pilots courses in not comprehensive enough to facilitate a thorough study of the reasons for this lack of motivation. This, they say, is because the number of women applying for the pilots course is very low, and any minor change in the trends would have a disproportionate influence on the overall figures.

Following a preliminary look at the figures, the IAF has put forward several possible explanations. First, they say, the trend that was started in the 1990s, whereby courses that had previously been the sole domain of male soldiers were opened to women, has run its natural course. At first, this trend created a wave of interest and enthusiasm, but the feeling now is that this initial appeal has worn off

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U.N. Representative: So, Mr. Evil -
Dr. Evil: It's Dr. Evil, I didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called "mister," thank you very much.

Lately in Bangalore, Yelahanka and Dundigal: Women in the Indian Air Force have created a gender issue for the government with nearly half the girls in training performing consistently better than the men but still being barred from flying combat aircraft.

IDFAF female fighter pilots

Hi guys.
I have the IMAX DVD "Fighter Pilot- Operation Red Flag". The camera pans the flightline with close-ups of the pilots getting into their jets. At this particular Red Flag a number of Israeli F16s took part and a female pilot can been seen strapping herself into a F16 D. Also, female pilot flew a F15 C at this particular event. Women still can't park though. :diablo:

Get this DVD! The footage is magnificent. There is a close-up of a couple of Strike Eagles in formation and one by one they peel off and away from the formation- fantastic! A10, F16, Luftwaffe Tornado, C17, MH60- they're all there. Also the synthetic visualisation of the DACT sessions is well displayed.

After WWII, all before-WWII pilot licenses cancelled. All must re-achieve pilot licenses by US military standards.

1953, Hideko was first female Japanese to achieve pilot license by US military standards
1955, husband operated flight company.
1956, invited by Johnson AFB, Dasaitama Prefecture, first female Japanese to fly military jet aircraft.
Later, invited by JASDF, flew F-104.

Did not like to be called Obaachan (Grandmother) by grandchildren, so they called her Nana (Seven).

UNITED States Air Force F-16 fighter pilot Monessa Catuncan doesn’t just maneuver an aircraft whenever she’s on air—she also carries the Philippine flag and the pride of the country it represents and the people in it.

Don't forget, during WWII the ATA women pilots were flying Lancaster bombers, with at most only a cadet to help, also Spitfires and all other fighters, bombers, flying boats, etc., the famous picture was of Lettice Curtis climbing down a ladder from a Lancaster, having just delivered it solo to an operational squadron. Lettice is still alive and in her nineties!!.

Annie Lawrence learned to fly before she learned to drive a car. Airplanes often flew low over her grandparents farm on final approach to a nearby dirt strip, which she said inspired her to pursue a career in aviation at a time when the field was almost completely dominated by men. And according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she passed away Wednesday at the age of 84.

AUSTIN, Texas — Susie Bain found her place in the sky when she was 21.

The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, and Bain had left college because it was too expensive. She enrolled in clerical school, but when a friend told her about a chance to fly as one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she signed up.

* Story Highlights
* Ambreen Gul is one of seven women trained to fly F-7 supersonic fighter jet
* To become a Pakistani fighter pilot takes three years of training
* Some female pilots wear hijabs, others go without the Muslim headdress